Dinner! 2005

[lesfen]

Sesame noodles with cucumber and scallions.  Yum!  Now off to the movies.

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Oh man... that looks soooo good! Great photo!

[suzilightning]

beautiful stuff, all

rain today so i am free to cook and cook i did with a vengence -

poached quinces. if y'all can do these they are a relevation. part apple part pear - wonderful texture and i can think of several ways they can be used - including just over some vanilla soy ice cream.

will use some of these for tomorrow or sunday's dinner of duck breast with quinces. the breasts are now marinating in 1/2 cup of the poaching liquid, some 5 spice powder, garlic, lemongrass and salt and pepper. i found some lovely thin green asparagus i think i'll roast and serve along with some red leaf lettuce salad with some radiccio?

tonight was a recipe try from cuisine at home: french onion salisbury steak - and johnnybird loved it. served it as a soup-ish thing with whole wheat noodles and roasted broccoli instead of cheese toasts. another keeper.

i'm sure maytag blue with pear and either noilly prat vermouth(me) or port(the birdie) for dessert in a bit.

[helenas]

chanterelles/aged gruyere gratin - cheese, pan browned sliced onion and mushrooms sandwiched bw two layers of thin italian country bread slices: mixture of eggs/creme fraiche/milk pored over and baked in the oven - oh so good and oh so unbearably rich...

[Daniel]

Wow the gratin sounds really really good..

[Megan Blocker]

chanterelles/aged gruyere gratin - cheese, pan browned sliced onion and mushrooms sandwiched bw two layers of thin italian country bread slices: mixture of eggs/creme fraiche/milk pored over and baked in the oven - oh so good and oh so unbearably rich...

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And so purty!

[Chufi]

So many wonderful dishes.. that cake, wow!!

wendy that's some great pantry cooking..

Megan those noodles look lovely..

and suzilightning, I love quinces.. haven't seen them around here yet.. first chance I get I'll be buying them!

our dinner tonight.. started with pumpkin/chipotle/parmesan souffle, spices with cinnamon and nutmeg

and then pan-fried hake steaks with salted caper/lemon garlic vinaigrette, and a salad of aragula and roasted beetroot

big chunk of bitter chocolate with hazelnuts for dessert

[Megan Blocker]

our dinner tonight.. started with pumpkin/chipotle/parmesan souffle, spices with cinnamon and nutmeg

and then pan-fried hake steaks with salted caper/lemon garlic vinaigrette, and a salad of aragula and roasted beetroot

big chunk of bitter chocolate with hazelnuts for dessert

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Wow, Klary! That all looks amazing...and sounds even better. How can you go wrong with lemon, garlic and capers?

Would you be willing to share the recipe for the souffle? My mom is coming to visit, and that sounds like something she would swoon over.

[dockhl]

our dinner tonight.. started with pumpkin/chipotle/parmesan souffle, spices with cinnamon and nutmeg

and then pan-fried hake steaks with salted caper/lemon garlic vinaigrette, and a salad of aragula and roasted beetroot

big chunk of bitter chocolate with hazelnuts for dessert

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Wow, Klary! That all looks amazing...and sounds even better. How can you go wrong with lemon, garlic and capers?

Would you be willing to share the recipe for the souffle? My mom is coming to visit, and that sounds like something she would swoon over.

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Me. too ! Yum........please?

[monavano]

Last night was braised beef over gnocchi, inspired by a local restaurant here in Northern Virginia. While my gnocchi were not like pillows, ala the restaurant, they were pretty darn good considering it was my first attempt. I had made a batch last weekend, inspired my Michael Chiarrelo on the Food Network. These are the frozen ones and cryo'd beef for stew.

I just love our vaccum sealer. Meats can be placed in warm water and defrost withing 30-60 minutes. The gnocchi of course, remained frozen until they were boiled. I was so pleased when the frozen ones floated to the top of the water!! Whew!!

Here's the dish. The beef was prepared just as an osso bucco, but instead of veal shanks I used beef for stew. It was braised in my slow cooker on low for 5 hours. The braised beef/osso bucco recipe is credited to Emeril. I finished it with a bit of lemon zest and grated Locatelli.

[monavano]

From Suvir's Indian Homecooking.. I made the hot and sour halibut with cumin fried potatos.. Really great recipe.. I have his tandori lamb chops marinating for at least a day.. I am looking forward to those guys..

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That looks beautiful! I normally wouldn't think to prep halibut that way. I definitely need to expand my fish repetoire and will give this one a try!

[James Kessler]

A recipe from Mario Batali's book, Molto Italiano: "Sogliola all Mugnaia" or "Sauteed Sole Miller's-Style."

Also on the plate: French butter pears, sauteed in butter, then oven-roasted.

[monavano]

I second the plea for that souffle recipe!! It's gorgeous. Wow.

[Susan in FL]

Awesome, everybody.

Some awesome things are going on here, too. We are five hours into dinner now. We started cooking, eating, and drinking at 2:30 this afternoon. Except before that, hours ago, I started a demi-glace making project.

This is fun -- the main activity of our afternoon, evening, and most of the night. If you count the pre-dinner snacks, it's seven courses, and it's a Pinot Noir Dinner. We have two good bottles of wine, and we decided to have a glass of each before us throughout rather than what we had planned, which was going to be one bottle with the first half and the other bottle with the second half. We are comparing a California Pinot Noir and an Oregon Pinot Noir. The California wine I bought while on my recent trip, after tasting it in the winery: 2003 Wild Horse Unbridled, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley. The other Pinot Noir, from Oregon, I never heard of before I saw it in the store. It is 2003 Cricklewood, Willamette Valley. The Oregon is less than half as expensive as the Wild Horse!

Our before dinner snack was the liver, gizzard, and heart of the duck that Russ cut up, and some nice crispy cracklings, and a Mojito in a Pinot Noir glass.

Gotta go... We're in between courses, and duty (pleasure) calls... I'll be back!

[Megan Blocker]

Awesome, everybody.

Some awesome things are going on here, too.  We are five hours into dinner now.  We started cooking, eating, and drinking at 2:30 this afternoon.  Except before that, hours ago, I started a demi-glace making project.

This is fun -- the main activity of our afternoon, evening, and most of the night.  If you count the pre-dinner snacks, it's seven courses, and it's a Pinot Noir Dinner. 

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Ooooooooh, can't wait to see what comes out of this, Susan! It sounds leaps and bounds fancier than my dinner!

I made a warm pasta salad. This is a much smaller version of a salad I made back in August for my friend's bridal shower, which I hosted. It's campagnelle, skillet-roasted corn, tomatoes, garlic, red wine vinegar and olive oil, with a little parmagiano reggiano thrown in for good measure. Fast, easy, and delightfully tangy.

Edited October 9, 2005 by Megan Blocker (log)

[Lori in PA]

We had chicken, leek, and mushroom soup with cream, a salad, and dh's just out of the oven white yeast bread. Now, there is Rocky Road ice cream in the freezer calling out to me...

[rooftop1000]

I'm not sure weather this was lunch or dinner, but its getting posted here. I made for an indeterminate amount of guests after Nana's service this morning-

2 Crudite with snow peas, green beans, broccoli, red and yellow peppers, radishes, cherry tomatoes, yellow and green squash, and carrots.One served with onion dip and the other with crab dip. A port wine cheeseball crackers and honey cashews, potato chips, olive dish, cheese and pepperoni platter. Mains were roasted pork loin, roasted turkey breast, and baked ziti. The potato gratin seemed to have curdled so I threw it back into the oven to hide it(someone actually offered to taste it for me)...uh no. Dinner rolls and cranberry mustard were also offered. Dessert was banana cake/cream cheese icing, mini black and white cookies, and grapes ...and someone brought a yellow cake/chocolate icing.

My mother-in-law thinks I am a goddess - no clue that it only took about 4 hours on Thursday

banana cake for "nana-banana"....and yes we remembered to throw out the potatoes

tracey

[Daniel]

Made the Tandori Lamb from Suvir's Book.. Also made lobster using his Vindaloo Sauce.. Had cumin string beans with onion and goat cheese naan.. For dessert we had cardamum creme brulee..

Lamb and Lobster Tail.. Also had the claws sitting in pot of vindaloo sauce, not pictured..The man just knows his lamb.. I have made a few of his lamb dishes as well eating at his restaurants.. All fantastic experiences..

Beans:

Naan prior to broiling..

Cardamum Brulee

Edited October 9, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Matthew Grant]

Potato Pancake and vegetables :

Followed with one of the best steaks I've eaten. Sirloin from Northfield farm, the butcher was sketchy on the hang time (I'm e-mailing to find out) but at least 5 weeks, I would estimate 6. The girl serving hadn't tried it before but I was sold on the fact that it was a cross breed, Dexter Steer and White Park - my two favourites. Strong gamey meat, sensational flavour, soft, melting yellow fat. Served with a large helping of sticky Aligot, no idea how this becme a peasant dish, it costs me £6 in cheese alone!

[Susan in FL]

Potato Pancake and vegetables :

That is pretty!

Followed with one of the best steaks I've eaten. Sirloin from Northfield farm, the butcher was sketchy on the hang time (I'm e-mailing to find out) but at least 5 weeks, I would estimate 6. The girl serving hadn't tried it before but I was sold on the fact that it was a cross breed, Dexter Steer and White Park - my two favourites. Strong gamey meat, sensational flavour, soft, melting yellow fat. Served with a large helping of sticky Aligot, no idea how this becme a peasant dish, it costs me £6 in cheese alone!

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That sounds luscious. I love beef with gamey flavor. Is it naked, glistening in the photo, or was it rubbed with something?

What is Aligot?

[Matthew Grant]

It's naked, nothing on it at all. Aligot is a cheese and mash concoction served everywhere in teh Aubrac region of France. Google it and you'll come up woth dozens of hits.

[MobyP]

Beautiful potato and veg thingy, Matt.

A lunch party for some egulletees for very great services rendered...

To start, a torchon of foie, poached in gewurtztraminer and veal stock, which I clarified and served as a gelée. Also Pain Poilane, and figs poached in a fennel red wine syrup.

Then crayfish tortellini with a fumet safron foam, and crayfish jus.

Then (apologies for picture quality) Roast chicken stuffed with herbs, sauteed cépes, and artichokes with a chicken jus.

For dessert, chocolate tart with vanilla cream, and freshly baked lemon madeleines.

[Daniel]

Wow, really nice..

[Susan in FL]

Awesome, everybody.

Some awesome things are going on here, too.  We are five hours into dinner now.  We started cooking, eating, and drinking at 2:30 this afternoon.  Except before that, hours ago, I started a demi-glace making project.

This is fun -- the main activity of our afternoon, evening, and most of the night.  If you count the pre-dinner snacks, it's seven courses, and it's a Pinot Noir Dinner.  We have two good bottles of wine, and we decided to have a glass of each before us throughout rather than what we had planned, which was going to be one bottle with the first half and the other bottle with the second half.  We are comparing a California Pinot Noir and an Oregon Pinot Noir.  The California wine I bought while on my recent trip, after tasting it in the winery:  2003 Wild Horse Unbridled, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley.  The other Pinot Noir, from Oregon, I never heard of before I saw it in the store.  It is 2003 Cricklewood, Willamette Valley.  The Oregon is less than half as expensive as the Wild Horse!

Our before dinner snack was the liver, gizzard, and heart of the duck that Russ cut up, and some nice crispy cracklings, and a Mojito in a Pinot Noir glass. 

Gotta go...  We're in between courses, and duty (pleasure) calls...  I'll be back!

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We finished dessert, and finished cleaning up, just a little before 11:30 last night... just in time to watch SNL on TV and do a little eG-ing, but not in time for my senses to be in gear enough to post about dinner.

First a couple of pictures of dinner prep work:

poaching salmon for the pate'

getting ready to process, before the addition of butter, cream cheese, and seasonings to the mixture

five different kinds of mushrooms! and in the background, the last stage of making demi-glace

The snacking was done just standing around while we were prepping stuff and cooking. In between each course, we did kitchen clean-up and last-minute cooking before serving. Later I commented about nice it was to clean up as we went along, and Russ reminded me that we had no choice or we would have run out of equipment and counter space!

The table, ready to begin the sit-down meal:

note the TV remote, in hand, in the upper right corner

The wines, perhaps this was mid-way though the meal:

And the meal, in progression:

salmon pate' and accompaniments

sauteed mushrooms with a touch of roasted garlic in a puffed pastry shell (yes, Pepperidge Farm) & the pastry "top" drizzled with white truffle oil

pan roasted duck breast on rosemary red currant wine sauce and rosemary & garlic zucchini and squash

seared lamb rib chops, finished with verjuice; mashed red potatoes & celery root with Roaring 40's blue cheese; and crisp-tender baby Brussels sprouts

Parmigiano Reggiano, French Camenbert, and Gorgonzola Dolce for the cheese course, with pear slices, bittersweet chocolate [to taste with the Dolce blue cheese], a piece of toast, and an orchid blossum picked from our yard

Panera Bread's Chocolate Raspberry Brownie

[Susan in FL]

Thanks, Matt, will do the Google.

A lunch party for some egulletees for very great services rendered...

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Wow, looks beautiful and delicious. Are there some very great services I could render?

I can do meals such as that for just the two of us, but there is no way I can pull it off when we have company. I would be a nervous wreck, and mess stuff up for sure. Impressive!

[Chufi]

Moby, that lunch looks incredibly elegant and stylish.. and delicious, yes that too..

were the figs poached in red wine syrup with fennel, the vegetable, or fennel seeds?

Susan, I was thinking this afternoon "I wonder how Susan's cooking marathon turned out.. "everything looks beautiful.. a lot of food I have to say!

our dinner, only 1 course :

chicken pie with parsnips, portobella's, and carrots. Flavored with lots of fresh thyme. It was delicious but the inside was a little bit too runny.. should have made it into a pot pie instead.

Edited October 9, 2005 by Chufi (log)